I have no facts or data to back it up, but anecdotally I can say acupuncture works for pain relief. I had a serious injury that left me needing leg and back surgery, which in turn left me bed ridden for much of year. I had a ton of back pain from being bedridden during the layup, and then using muscles not used in ages getting back up and moving again during rehab. The docs did nothing but throw pills at me which I didn't want to rely on. I gave acupuncture a try on a long shot, and I got great relief from it. I was told that the micro punctures stimulated the body's natural healing process. I don't know about that, I suspect since it was back pain from months of being immobilized the needles somehow stimulated some nerves that caused chronically twisted and tightened muscles to relax. Or it could have been a placebo effect. I don't know. But it worked well. I would on the other hand would not expect it to work for any other benefit.